The real possibility of Adam having been a historical personality who lived
and breathed about 7,000 years ago is not driven by a "compelling need,"
but upon data and evidence, some of which has been posted here. And the
stark reality that non-existent people cannot give birth to flesh and blood
human beings should be on its face reason enough to at least look for a
time and place where he might belong. Then the Bible writer describes the
location, and he gives relative time markers by including some comments
about the surrounding culture at the time of Adam.

But just be practical. Look at your own line of ancestry. You likely know
your parents, probably your grandparents, and maybe a few generations
before that. Some may know their ancestors back for generations, or even
centuries if your bloodline is famous. But who living today emanated from
a nonexistent, mythological distant ancestor? Think of anybody? So why
would anyone entertain the possibility that Jesus Christ's line of descent
started with a man who did not exist? It is Holy Scripture for crying out
loud, there is no reason to strip it of its integrity. That's a YEC tactic.